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What are some basic tips and settings for detecting in mineralized soil and or water? I'm mainly looking for gold, small nuggets in this case, and silver. Yesterday I took it down to a creek and I felt like I couldn't get it set right. The sand/gravel has quite a bit of fine flour gold and a lot of black sand. I was getting constant dings at 11. 14-18 and 60 were common too. In a lot of places it signaled, but only while in the water so it feels like my gb is off or something. What can I do to help this? Just turn the sensitivity down? I dug some to check, but nothing. I tried wet sand setting and the signals started going to 60 and some at 43. Im not sure if I know how to balance it correctly. Will the detector pick up things not directly under the coil in water? I was using the smaller 6 inch coil. Any tips are appreciated, I'm fairly new at this. Thanks

I have a Minelab Excalibur II that needs TLC as well as a Tesoro Sand Shark. I am having trouble deciding what I should do with each. I feel for the price of getting the Excalibur fixed, I could buy one of the newer machines for about the same costs and have a warranty. The Sand Shark is a PI machine that seems to short out when in use.

Anyone who reads my posts recently saw a floating sifter I got for beach hunting, and thank you all for the suggestions regarding making it better. I took the advice of one of the people that responded, sent it back, and got the one I really wanted, the great but expensive Tube Tubb: This thing is big, kinda heavy (around 3 pounds), and expect to pay around $200 for it, but it's made in the USA, has no metal in it at all, and has a really thick fiber sifter with 3/8" holes. It can take a big scoop of rocks and silt and will not flip over just like the other one, but it's way more well made. It's 31" long by 16" wide. I got mine from Serious Detecting, but it's pretty much available from many metal detecting specialty companies online. My next problem was how to carry it. 😬 One thing I noticed with the other one was that because it's huge and the grab handles are thick, you have to carry it by hand or attached to a lanyard and it bangs all over the place during portage, not to mention keeping one of your hands occupied. I've seen the Hoover Boys using one but they just toss it in a boat, I have to walk to the beach from the parking lot. 😵 I searched Amazon for various backpack rigs and came upon this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08372G1VX Again it's kinda pricey ($68) but it's the only thing I could conceptualize holding this sifter. 🤔 Man was I surprised when it got here. It's a bit fiddly to adjust at first, but it's extremely well made and worth every penny, the perfect backpack carrier for the Tube Tubb. Pop the two button locked Bianchi clips and you're ready to go, you can keep the backpack unit on your back while in the water. 🥳 It has comfortable and easily adjustable shoulder straps and a cross strap as well. It also has a cushioned pad with two zipper pockets. Now with both hands free to carry my detector and scoop, I should be all set for some serious water hunting this fall at my rocky, pebbly beach. I will revisit this post when I have used this rig.

A friend of mine asked me today for some advice on a good entry-level detector. He mainly wants to dig coins, jewelry, relics, etc. But, he did say he would like to be able to look for gold, too, if he got the notion. Now, I know there are a lot of good detectors out there that will foot that bill. However, HIS entry-level is not the same as MY entry-level, so I'm not really sure where to point him. Which kind of leads to the topic of this post. I know back when I was growing up there were some really cheap detectors out there that one could purchase to get started. But, the thing is, they were just as cheap in quality and functionality as they were in price. Bounty Hunter's were about $50 during my childhood (maybe even less in some stores) and would have a hard time finding a locomotive in a rail yard. Then there were the Radio Shack branded machines that worked better as a walking stick than a detector. On the opposite side of that coin you had the good machines by White's, Fisher, Garrett, etc. MY very first detector ever was in 1997 and was a White's Goldmaster V-SAT. I bought it for $30 at a yard sale and it worked perfectly. So, his question on a "starter detector" got me to thinking. Does cheap price necessarily always mean cheap quality in respect to detectors these days? I'm a Minelab guy and that's all I use now; so my "normal" recommendation to him would have been a EQ800, EQ900, or maybe even the Manticore. But, he is looking for something $300 or cheaper... and that is where I got stuck. I know Minelab has the Vanquish and X-terra machines, but are they actually good machines for their low price? I really don't know. But, I do know that I do not have the financial ability to buy all of their cheap machines just to find out. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello again. I'm hoping that I can get some open and honest insight on a decision I am having a hard time making. And here is it: I have a Minelab GPX 6000 with the 3 ML coils (11", 14", and 17" elliptical). I also have a stock EQ700 that's only been used twice. I have been contemplating getting either the Coiltek Goldhawk 10"x5" coil or the NuggetFinder 12"x7" Xceed coil for the 6000. My thought was initially to trade the 17" elliptical for one of them, but I'm sure there are not many folks out there looking to swing that big old thing all day. OR.. maybe trade my EQ700 for one of those 2 coils. For those of you that have used the 2 coils I'm contemplating, would you guys mind giving me your personal thoughts/opinions/suggestions on what you would do? Should I keep both the 17" coil and the EQ700 and just spend the money on one of the other 2 coils? Or go ahead and sell/trade for one of them? Also, please tell me your thoughts on which of the 2 coils is "best" for the 6000? Thank you in advance to anyone who answers. 😊

Well, after almost two weeks out of the water, I just used on the wetsand the M9 for a couple days, leaving the M8 to rest for a little. So this morning I was approaching the deeper waters and after half an hour or so, a crazy noise started out of the blue. No sensitivity detuning or noise cancel or GB or program change worked to keep the machine quiet. Turned off and re-turned on, nothing, same conduct. At a certain point, really tired by all that noise, I managed to change the min. & max. Pitch lower to avoid ears overstress in the depth audio mode and simple profile (the only combination for a neat strong signal). This solved just partially the problem and finally I've been able to hear signals by three SS rings that were in the area. I passed and crossed the tight space in every possible way till silence, but I mean by objects. My Manticore seems to get crazy without a reason and in spite of the longer lower shaft to avoid the rod lock bolt interference or the usual tight cable on the upper part, it remains to understand what is happening. Later I'll carefully dry it out and clean as usual to change the coil and try with the M8. If at that point the noise goes away, I'm maybe the owner of a faulty M9. This is the fourth or fifth session I dive with it... Let's hope for the coil or I'll be forced to ship the Manti to the doctor😑

Hello I was wondering what the chances are or if there are meteorites In Southern Illinois because I believe I read on the internet that's her only really in mainly like five states and only 1900 a year found in the US. But I found a picture of one on the internet and what I have to me resembles it but others have told me it's slag I'm not sure so I was just looking for any advice It didn't make a mark on a ceramic tile on the back of it the first picture I'm going to put the meteorite picture off the internet and then I'll put a picture of what I have that I believe looks like it any info is appreciated and then I put a pic of the inside after I cut it open and I've never seen an earth rock look like this thing looks inside and I busted open thousands

Finally finished my mini WS-6 Master. First off, I bought a Golden Mask style shaft for it, it came with a steel arm cuff and foot, poorly and unevenly drilled holes for the zinc bolts (all the fitment hardware is zinc ?), and possibly a missing bottom shaft aligner. The shaft is carbon fiber, not the thickest I've seen, but it's fine for me. It has 3 sections which make it the longest detector I own, here it is next to my stock D2 fully extended: Yeah it's that long. You'd probably have to be Shaq or even taller to complain about it. Fully extended it's almost as tall as me (6'1). I could probably use it to search storm drains if they didn't have iron. ? I disliked the arm cuff, so I replaced it with an Anderson cuff for Minelab FBS detectors, it's powder coated aluminum. I used a single stainless bolt as the second hole was drilled improperly, and put 3M Extreme tape on the flange before I tightened it. I have a single zip tie on it to prevent rotation, but it probably won't. Next obstacle was a foot, I bought a Nokta Universal Bipod. Again secured from rotation by 3M Extreme tape. It folds forward and is very light. I secured the WS-6 puck holder to the mount using a single zip tie, it will not fall off. I think I learned that here from one of our other intrepid rural engineers. Gotta replace that zinc screw however, I'm sure it will rust fast. I will probably replace all of the hardware. Completely compressed the detector is a little smaller than my stock D2: I understand now why the 3d section position holder was omitted, it allows the coil to be rotated to the side to put it in a backpack. The biggest obstacle I noticed was the coil yoke, does anyone understand the XP coil securing concept? Xp coils come with a plug of sorts that goes on the wingnut side of the coil. The coils only come with one washer, and the reason for it is simple: XP puts all of the rotation pressure on one coil ear, nearly eliminating ear breakage. The plug fits in a hole on the wingnut side, and pushes the coil against the single washer on the bolt head side. This keeps the bolt straight so it does not break, and puts enough pressure on the coil so it can be made difficult to rotate. I've tested this concept with a Lyman Trigger Pull gauge. The amount of pull on the shaft in order to move it has to be greater than 5 pounds, or the coil will flop. Not so much the 9" but definitely the 11 and 13" coils, which is why you don't want to use two washers - one on each side - to secure the coil. I can pretty much guarantee bolt breakage or flop. This shaft came with two washer/grommets, that equals floppy coil. Most washers are made with EPDM or some other such compound, and they are slippery. Slippery x 2 = floppy coil or bolt bending and breaking. ? I found a solution to this as well, I went to my local Ace Hardware, and bought 2 hard black nylon washers and a press plug to hold them together, inserted it in the wingnut side of the yoke, and used the standard XP bolt and plug to hold it all together. Below is a photo of the assembly, you can see how it pushes the coil left to put pressure on the single washer/grommet, keeping the bolt straight. This can be tightened almost as much as you want without breaking a bolt, I'm getting 8 pounds of pull before the shaft moves, that's really good for people that don't like to spend all day adjusting the coil! ? Yes, I'm crazy. ? I removed two of the zip ties on the cuff, they aren't necessary anymore. The whole thing weighs 992 grams, that's about 2.19 pounds, a little heavier than the stock D2, but smaller and longer, and far more secure to use. The twist locks are aluminum with rubber grips, probably the second best thing to the carbon fiber ? I prefer camlocks. it may not be totally practical but it was a lot of fun figuring all this stuff out! ?

Does anyone on here know anything about the laws regarding detecting for gold in the Philippines? I know gold has been found all over the Islands and sits #2 in the world for gold reserves. I would like to know about requirements, permits,where to contact for any Geological/Gold maps or production journals,are you allowed to keep the gold, staking a claim in the Philippines, regions that produced nuggets, etc... I know of one area that produced nuggets and it was placer.

After all these years of detecting I'm considering adding gold prospecting to my game. I've never started just because my location did not make it seem like a fruitful thing to do given the beach and parks are always close by. It also hurt because the wife refused to allow me to put a wash plant in the backyard so I could pretend I was a miner. So that being said where to begin? I have my Manticore and Equinox but beyond that I have no clue how to read the ground or tell if something is going to be gold bearing. If you were advising someone just starting out what would the path be? Would you advise them to join and organization like GPAA? Pay someone like Gerry to take you into the goldfields and get a crash course in prospecting or take a more cerebral approach and digest as much of this forum and books as possible? I have time and in no hurry at the moment. The current economy has put a damper on some of my pursuits so funds are not unlimited. I gotta be smart as to how I get going on this and I figured this was the place and the group to ask. I'm located in Ventura County and I know at one time there was gold in our hills but maybe not so much anymore. Thanks in advance! Skate

Recently Gary Blackwell put up two videos informing us about a program someone else introduced to him - "Tekkna". It has a whizzy name for sure, and some really odd parameters. Here's the first video: The idea is that it's supposed to help you find small coins in iron infested areas. Let me first mention that no program or set of parameters for the D2 is "magic", although @Rattlehead's "Silver Slayer" was as close as one could get on V0.71 in my opinion. ? That was for coin shooting. Today I went back to continue my grid search of the place I was yesterday, but I quickly found out there was really nothing else, I believe it was a spot that was used a few times for a gathering in the early 1800s, there were oyster shells everywhere and occasional big iron hits, I dug a couple of them and they were all kettle fragments. I then switched to random hunting, located another really trashy spot further away, put the 9" on and tried Tekkna. Purely by coincidence I swung the detector a few times and got an 87 in all the trash, Tekkna really sounds off clear when you have a non-Ferrous target. Between a few odd bits of heavily squelched iron, I dug this: Yet another Spanish coin, #5 this year. ? I believe it to be a Half Reale cob. The reverse is this: Not much to go by other than the cross size, it would be much larger if it were clipped. Cobs are oddly shaped and cut. I searched around for two more hours using this program, made a couple of tweaks to it, first iron volume which I reduced to 8, and then Audio Response which I increased to 5. I also lowered Reactivity to 2 rather than 3 and heard a lot more targets, but from then on the only stuff I got was bits of lead. I also put bottle caps at 3 because the first time I used it here I dug a bottle cap. I might change that to 5 if I get another, it really doesn't mess things up, I've found gold in the beach with it at 5. Here's his second video posted today that gives clear instructions on how to set it up on the WS6: And here, in a nutshell are my notes for setting it up on the RC unit if watching the first video doesn't help: Tekkna Program Based on Sensitive Full Tones Disc 42 95 sensitivity Frequency Max 40 Iron volume 10 Reactivity 3 Audio Response 4 Frequency offset 10 Bottle Caps 0 Notch off Silencer 0 My impression of this program is that it is "interesting", it's not for the 13" coil for sure. You're going to be using it in machine gun iron hoping to squeeze one more target out. ? You don't need the bigger coils grabbing stuff on edge that might overwhelm the center. I lowered iron volume because it really hammers you, 8 is rather comfortable. I raised Audio Response because I wanted targets to jump out slightly more, and lowered Reactivity because I felt I wasn't hearing enough. I don't think the program is really "unmasking" anything, it's just giving you a better chance to find good stuff in the bad stuff. From other tests I've done live in the field I have yet to see any D2 mode "unmask", that seems to be a myth to me. If you're like Gary (I am) and want to feel like you're hearing everything, albeit a whisper until you catch a diggable target, it works rather well for that. It did find a small desirable coin in a bed of crap. Understand though, my area of the country has a lot of Spanish silver, you're not gonna just go out and have it appear. ? I'm pretty sure the UK is a lot different than my mild soil here in Virginia, but Tekkna might be another tool to add. I did not dig any iron, and had no instance where I might have. Check it out. I'll be testing it a lot more very soon, and will update this with any other observations I make. GL, HH ?

Although there used to be quite stringent rules for dealers on selling instruments and accessories outside the allocation area, lately it is possible to find several detectors of any brand on Amazon or eBay and buy them from another country. Having just sold a coil of my old Deus2, the new owner does not know what to do in case of service. Since the coil came from France, is it possible to get service from a dealer in another country? Should one send it to the dealer who first made the sale to initiate the service procedure? Thank you to anyone with information on this matter....

Been a long time since I posted anything here, I love my Equinox 600 but haven't had anything interesting happen lately until today. I was going through Amazon deals and came across this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0C6LWNNF6 They're light, extremely comfortable, and inexpensive at the moment. They have a microphone but you can swing it out of the way. It isn't removable. They paired with the APTX-LL B+ sign on the Nox right out of the box, I did a factory reset to wipe out the previous headphones I was using, and then pushed the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth button, waited for the Wi-Fi icon to disappear. Then I turned on the headphones and hung them on the detector and walked away. When I came back they were paired. ? They're not all that loud even with the detector at full volume and the bone phones at full, but the point is they work, for a minimum investment of $49. I generally hunt fields so the volume isn't much of a problem, YMMV. Good luck, and happy hunting!

hi all anyone have any info on the CORS Shrew 6.5" x3.5” DD Search Coil im thinking on adding 1 to my g2+ since nel snake coils are not available

It was taken from a construction site where they were digging with the backhoe and they pulled a bunch of this out. Anyone know where I can sell it or anyone interested in buying some of it.

I chase the old gold pocket prospectors who worked out the pockets long ago. What they missed were cleanup during the 1930’s depression. Over the last 170 years the ground has been worked hard by ground sluicing and fires. The hillsides are steep, rocky and thick in brush, vines and canyon oak. The lower elevation red soils favor buckbrush with the east belt soils favoring manzanita. Over the years I have come up with a method for picking up the old timers leftovers that requires crawling under and through these hillside thickets. I have patch-worked together a couple of VLF detectors and I have a good PI detector for the hot ground. What I looking for is a rugged waterproof wireless multi frequency (either in the coil or controller) VLF detector with a 9x5 enclosed Double D coil, an adjustable 150 ohm wireless headphones with one ear cup and a telescoping shaft. In a full multi frequency and individual range of 14, 20, 30, 40, 45, 50 kHz with adjustable polyphonic 5 tones. A modified the Equinox 800 costs to over $1200, the XP ORX is too limited and along with the Deus untested on these California soil types. I have had luck with the Makro Gold Racer but it is limited to 56 kHz & I hate the tones. The Minelab 705 has been a good fit but is dated and limited to 3, 7.5 and 18.75 kHz. The Nokta Makro Legend may be a fit along with the XP Deus II. However far and few between when I get to the top or discover a long hidden camp I scan for coins. Any recommendations based on real gold prospecting experience on mineralized ground?

Haven't been getting out much lately, we had a lot of rain and now a cold snap, so I'm fiddling around with stuff at home between the Honeydews. When I go out detecting, I always take my wedding band off because It gets detected by my pinpointer when I'm searching for stuff in my hand. This got me to thinking, which I probably do too much of ? but I always feel a bit uncomfortable removing my wedding band, it's a sign of infidelity or deception to some. I also know of people that can't wear conductive or allergenic metal rings, and others that check their pinpointer with their ring. Some may just not care too, but this is for those that do. I've always said that to get the most out of detecting or the most detecting possible, you have to make some concessions with family or you're going down a deep, dark rabbit hole. I searched around for non-detectable rings and came across Ceramic Rings. They are made of Titanium Carbide, which seems to be a plentiful and cheap material, surprisingly not detectable by any of my detectors or pinpointers. Ceramic is also is lighter than and as strong as Tungsten Carbide, and may not shatter as readily. Ceramic Rings come in black, white, and some fluffy colors for the ladies if they want to be fluffy ?. They can't be made to have a silver or gold color like Tungsten Carbide can. They can also be combined with other non detectable materials and be quite attractive. This makes them more expensive, up to about $400. Stones like diamonds or others cannot installed without metal so that's out. My wife asked me If I wanted one for Valentine's Day when I showed them to her, so she had this one etched with "Happy hunting", and paid all of $60 for it. Since then I've found you can get one for as little as $10 with no etching that is just as good as this one. They're light, comfortable, non-allergenic, and don't scratch like Tungsten Carbide. They're also cheap, so if you lose it and can't find it (certainly not with a metal detector ?), it's better than losing your original band. I think my wife got a kick out of my doing this, it certainly seems that way. I got her some 14k ruby heart earrings to match a ring I found for her this year. Y'all know the saying.

Well it’s here and probably here to stay so people need to understand and live with its abilities. Not only is AI great at programming and writing, it has become advanced enough to find locations by matching landscape photos that people post online to Google Earth images and others, and with fairly good accuracy. This does not depend on the GPS tag location information that is also stored on your smartphone photos, it is actually an image search and analysis of the horizon features shown in the photo that it is doing. I am into Geography and GIS, and use a publicly available locating program to help with my wife’s historical archaeology work to find locations where old photos were taken (it only works if there hasn’t been too much development of the area in the meantime) and it has been fairly accurate. Anyways, just a heads up if you like to post landscape photos online but also want to keep your locations safe, as it is no longer just those people who are familiar with an area that can recognize where your landscape photos were taken, AI can now do it for for anyone almost as well as long as there’s a horizon shown with some features in the skyline (mountains and valleys and other unique items in the skyline).

Ok y'all, Chase brought my attention to this FREE app a while back that almost does it all, navigation, Topographic maps, tracks, markers for finds, pretty much everything, and they just added USGS Lidar maps. You can pay for the pro version but the free one is crazy good until it isn't. ? It's an app called CalTopo, for both iPhone and Android. I only use Android so there may be differences, but it's pretty full featured, you can't save photos of finds yet but you can mark them and label them. What Chase and I want to do is walk old roads on Topographic maps especially, find disturbed patches and the like. If we had cellar holes where I am, that would be great too, but almost none here. Let's get to it, download the app, open it and go to the icon that looks like stacked paper. I select "shaded relief" which is the USGS Lidar mapping they just added. It shows disturbed ground, cellar holes and most ground relief, it "sees through" trees. Next I select "MapBuilder Overlay" and "Structures" to see current roads and current structures. You can also select "Contours" and whatever level you want for the latest erosion, might be helpful. I use 10 feet. I'm showing you where I live, but if you decide to detect anywhere locally to me you'll receive a visit from my local Sheriff's department, or worse. ? ? Here's where it gets really interesting as if Lidar wasn't enough, you can overlay old Topographic maps: Select "Stack Base Layer", and pick "Historic" near the bottom of the list. Set the transparency percent to 40% or whatever your preference is, you may have to switch between the years to get one that actually displays, and BAM. Now you can see old roads and old structures! We're not done, you can mark positions of finds, and eventually see patterns: "Long press" the screen at the location, and you can add a label and description. I save ID numbers in the description. OR you can hit the "four dots" icon on the bottom and select "marker at GPS location". It will also save tracks like OnX Hunt and Go Terrain. I haven't tried that yet, but if it doesn't keep them you can run OnX as well. See the black rectangle? That's the location of an old farmhouse that is long gone. The roads are "fairly" accurate. Old maps weren't in the same scale often, so it's not perfect, but... Wow. There are a lot of things you can do with this app, but the more overlays you add the slower it will be. GL, HH. ?

I've seen other reviews here (I think) about the RCDIGS remote holder for the Deus 2. Here's my pup Sammy Hagar (?) checking it out after I test fit the RC. It comes in left hand or right hand tilt, or straight. This is the straight one. You'll have to wait a month for my birthday to see the right hand tilt. ? I've got a couple different kinds of locking mounts for the RC, looked for something immediately after seeing the lanyard and having the RC pop out of the mount. ? I have found the more serious mounts wear out after the beating I give them. This one looks like a beast. Initial impression is this manufacturer must have a heck of a printer, and knows how to make something tough. Lots of backfill and great material. Stainless and brass hardware, it almost feels like a precision instrument. Unlike other printed stuff it has a less raw feel, no really sharp edges. It comes well packaged with a piece of paper that has a QR code with a link to his assembly video, watch the video before you do anything. He will tell you some stuff you should know so you don't trash the mount. The manufacturer doesn't tell you one important thing in the video however - that you should have a 1/16th inch drill bit available and probably get some 1/8" stainless countersink screws that are 1/4" long. This is what I used: The screws are not included but he does mention that he doesn't use the stock mount screws, which in a few words (mine) are absolutely ridiculous crap that will break and wear out fast, not to mention they are too thin. A few times unscrewing them will wear them out. Rant over. ? You don't need the electrical cutters, I used them to cut the zip ties for the waveguide off my 9" coil. ? This is what it will look like when you're done, the countersink screws will not interfere. Took the rig out today, you'll notice (or not) when you put this together the RC is a little loose in the mount, it's probably better it is because it will probably break if it was hard to put in. I considered adding some foam or a rubber washer to tighten it in, but after a long field test today I'd say it's not a big deal. What I was mostly worried about is that the RC banging around in there might create extra tones with high sensitivity but it did not. It ended up being a pretty great day. About the only things I don't like about this mount are the following: There is no way you can get the waveguide inside the shaft, up the tubes and through the mount, it will have to be wrapped around the shaft. The outside tube is clever, and there's room inside for the waveguide end but not the clip, his video shows you why you won't need it. It also explains the gap inside. ? The last thing is kinda a double edge sword, the RC gets dirty in use, and you have to disassemble it after every hunt to clean it and the RC. The retaining screw knobs should probably be knurled a bit so that they are easier to turn. The good thing is that you do have to take the remote out every time, I've had issues with the charging jack from not taking the remote off, and have had to replace the charging cable a couple of times from trying to twist it in while the RC is mounted. Overall it's a pretty darn good piece of kit, I'll probably revisit this later if I find anything else to write about it. Here's the link to get one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134654186891

I know there are many that probably detect at night, so this is nothing new. I started night detecting because of poor sleep cycles and summer heat and my favorite claim was the GPAA, Placer Pete, in the Mojave Desert. I usually had boots on the ground between two and three and knocked off around ten unless the gold was good. I started this habit at the tail end of summer and continued this into the winter even when it was really cold. I probably woke up the claim owners, Steve and Phil, several times when they camped out and I was the only idiot driving by their tent at two in the morning. I always knew the general area I wished to detect because it’s really easy to walk in circles at night in the desert: the washes look similar and you can’t see that Joshua tree as a landmark. Also, I would park the truck on a high point incase I got turned around. The Minelab Gold Monster was my tool of choice, always wore a headlamp with fresh batteries, carried a flashlight, wore snake proof boots, and always double checked before kneeling and pulled the dirt and target out and away from under bushes. Recovering the gold is not as easy as daytime because the gold is dirty (unless it’s obvious) and looks like everything else in the scoop. But I did find numerous pieces and small nuggets; Placer Pete was always good for that. Don't forget that you are the only light for miles and attract all the flying critters. Don’t learn the hard way to not leave your equipment on the ground when nature calls at four in the morning, not that you worry about other people but it’s the animals that will surprise you. I never encountered the usual Mojave Green in the dark but met very curious and playful Kit Foxes which bit the cable for the headphones and hauled it off—I did find it later. You can see how close one little pup got just before he snatched a glove that I dropped while taking his picture. Your senses are hyperacute in the desert at night and gold targets sound extra sweet. But I always remembered that I was the intruder and many animals in the desert are nocturnal. If you detect at night to beat the heat or get hooked on it, I hope you find lots of gold and no rattlesnakes.

I recently stumbled upon the use of the mono program by accident and noticed a lack of a specific data point in the mf programs. Although I understand the minimal variation in frequency multiples and the almost no importance other than to clean the signal from interference, I still noticed that between shift 0 and shift 6, the frequency can slip a lot. In my case, I suffer in saltwater from a difficulty in finding a sweet spot between 24 and 40 kHz or at least visualizing the actual setting. This is quite different from the autotune scan, believe me. I am referring to the lack of an exact kHz number that I justify with more frequencies working, but that does not help in understanding what level you are working at. If I take into account in mono 40 kHz with a 0 shift, I assume I am reaching about 32 kHz. In mf this should translate the same way with the unknown of the lowest frequency. There are missing pieces in this theory but the lack of the number of kHz relative to the shift in use does not help me.

I'm down due to a severe shoulder injury, but not out. ? I've been thinking a lot about this article for a long time, even teased it a couple of times, I always keep my promises. A farm is a complex system, and to my great joy I've found that most detectorists have their "eyes on the prize", the immediate areas around barns, houses, and roadways. My best finds have come from other parts of a farm, partly because many of the farms I have hunted were previously detected. I want to share some of my observations over the past 4 years with you. I've also posted two other tutorials, one regarding using the website historicaerials.com and the app OnX Hunt, and another showing how to use the incredible Lidar imaging website from USGS. Here is the link for those: Probably the most important and first thing I will share is not only to get permission to hunt a farm by interesting the farmer in having you search it, but also to inquire as to the history of the place, and listen. Allowing a farmer to talk at length about the property is one of the top ways to ensure cooperation and the possibility of being able to keep some or all of what you find. If you act hasty, impatient or shady in any way you will be rejected. Scour the Internet prior to and after talking with the farmer so that anything the person says will make sense, but do be careful not to reveal too much of what you know. Promise that you will not be a liability, and that you will not call attention to the farm with any historical authorities. I'm not an artist so all of my illustrations will be somewhat crude, I apologize for that in advance. ? Above is an actual aerial photo of a farm from Google Maps, not necessarily one of my permissions. ? "Turn Zone" I've noticed that most farmers make one or two passes around the field both when planting or after harvest. This serves as a guide for what I call the "turn zone", this area will be at either end of the direction the field has been sown. Prior to mechanized farming methods, farmers used large animals to pull the various tools used. Traditionally a farm will be tilled and sown in the direction that produces the least amount of turns the animals would have to make. At best you will be able to determine this by eye and perhaps using old aerial photos, but sometimes large tracts are farmed in different directions in order to produce different crops at random. Generally the turn zone will be at the end of the furrows, not along the sides. I have illustrated these zones in red on the aerial photo. Typically most finds will be located in this area about two bush hog or tilling widths (modern equipment) from the edge of the farm. Buttons, tack buckles, and coins can be found in this area in abundance, as not only is it a stress on equipment and clothing turning the animals, it is also a rest area before continuing back in the other direction. "Rabbit Hunting Zone" This zone is found usually in the more remote parts of the farm to avoid discharging firearms in the direction of the house and barns. It is illustrated by the orange tick marks along the tree line. Hunters flush out the prey there, and sometimes just fire into the woods, as small prey won't usually be seen in the open. Coins, buttons and other pocket contents can be found there, as well as a tremendous amount of spent cartridges from various firearms which makes this zone a bit difficult. If you're not up for a lot of signals you can avoid it. There will be a lot of other junk there such as discarded lubricating cans, parts, tools and lots of can slaw. "Stress Zone" One might think farms are usually flat, but in my experience they are anything but. Gullies, washouts, and rises from the sublime to the ridiculous abound! An aerial photo doesn't show these anomalies well so I created a crude drawing to illustrate it below. The incline might seem steep but I've seen it often. Getting farm animals to cooperate going uphill and downhill is no easy task. Therefore, relics get lost in this stressful endeavor at the bottom, middle and top of a rise. Buttons pop, buckles break or fall off with straps, and coins are lost from resting or maintaining tack and tools at the top and bottom of a hill or rise. In addition, relics get washed down to the bottom of the hill by storms. When searching a hillside, be mindful of shelves or indentations where relics might get trapped. "Hot Spots" Old farms were often the center of local activity. Fairs, Markets, Horse racing or riding and local entertainment to name a few. There is often no surface evidence of such activity. There may also be little evidence that a building once stood in the field. While searching the above zones, it is often good to crisscross the field to see if iron concentrations can be found in open space. The presence of such can well indicate a hot spot where activity occurred, and finding the edges of such a hot spot will allow for a more concentrated search. When concentrated iron is found, simply search in concentric circles or straight lines to find where iron is no longer detected in quantity. Miscellaneous Look for washouts, contours where water drains from the field, any evidence of running water during storms. If you search these spots from end to end there will be a high concentration of lighter materials such as aluminum at the lower end, but often heavier objects can be found at the beginning. The presence of many lead bullets in a particular spot indicates it is the drop point or backstop of projectiles such as one might find at a shooting range. Unless the actual target spot can be located where there is a possibility of finding pocket relics, it is somewhat doubtful that anything but bullets or shot will be found. Flattened bullets in quantity would be an indicator. Look at topographic maps on historicaerials.com going as far back as you can, they often indicate the presence of roads that have been moved or are no longer in use. Many relics can be found along old roads. Those maps prior to the 1960s will often indicate the location of buildings that no longer exist as well, represented by square dots in the oldest maps, and up to large rectangles in later maps. Water features on a farm present an extra degree of challenge, particularly waterproof equipment. Look for really tall trees that appear to have been on the farm for a long time after noon (12PM), these "signal trees" indicate the possibility of a break area from the hot sun. I've found coins and buttons tracing the shade. I also want to call attention to "dragged" objects that get caught up in the various implements, and items broken by such as well. Dragged items can be found anywhere, and broken items can often be found in straight lines from the piece you have currently discovered. Hunting in an increasing spiral from the object or along the apparent furrow may produce additional pieces. This is as much as I can think of at the moment, should I think of anything else I'll post it, or if any of you have other suggestions, please post them here. Happy Hunting!

Just about worn out my current set of kneepads. I've had trouble with false signals from the metal button tab fittings on my current pair when kneeling to recover a target...especially with the larger 13" coil on the Axiom where its a bit awkward to sweep the hole and avoid the kneepads. Anybody have a recommendation for kneepads that dont have metal fittings?

Thought I saw this in the XP Go Terrain instruction video, here is something you could use for your cell phone, a case to keep it running without holding it. In my situation, if I close my Z-Flip 4, it shuts off the ID comms with Go Terrain. You can see by the photo my phone will fit but with my booster battery it will not. If you're phone is a bit smaller you may be able to close the pouch with the battery. Maybe that would have worked with my Galaxy 7 ? The booster battery will fit in the front pocket, but I'd turn the phone facing the back to keep from damaging the screen. At least I can keep the phone completely covered until I need it with this case, but the case is not padded. ? It's $9.90 at Serious Detecting: https://seriousdetecting.com/products/xp-metal-detectors-xp-phone-pocket-for-mobile-phone-remote-control-finds?variant=45210894270748&gad_source=1 And it's made by XP! ?